


The War That Just Begun

by AliceMarylin1999



Series: World War II Ineffable Romance [1]
Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), M/M, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 14:03:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20341315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceMarylin1999/pseuds/AliceMarylin1999
Summary: After the church bombing Aziraphale realises he loves Crowley. They sit in Crowley's Bentley in the middle of this terrible night of bombing raid, for the first time in 80 years, as Aziraphale learns how to deal with his new, unknown and frightening feelings.





	The War That Just Begun

Aziraphale’s nice beige coat was covered in soot and ashes, as was his face and his hair, and all his body. He was standing on ruins of a church, blown up couple of seconds before that, and the only things left untouched by the explosion were Aziraphale himself, his demon friend Crowley and a bag with Aziraphale’s books.

\- Lift home?, - Crowley asked, without even looking at him, wearing his dark glasses underneath a black hat, in the dead of the night, as he was slowly moving away from the mess, back to the street.

But Aziraphale couldn’t move for another few seconds, and they seemed to be the longest in his almost-6000-year earthly life.

It all happened so sudden – betrayal by his agent (a double agent, as it turned out), nearly getting killed, and then being saved by someone he didn’t expect to ever see again.

Crowley.

\- You’re coming or what? You plan to stay there all night until another bomb drops?

Crowley was all in black – of course he was! – and he was standing near a posh black car, and all that blackness made it hard to distinguish him from the darkness of a London night. But every now and then, pale artificial light flashed somewhere far away, and Crowley’s tall slim figure became as clear and distinct as it was cut out of paper.

Something was aching inside Aziraphale’s chest as he looked at this figure. Black suit, elegant hat – why, everything about Crowley was elegant.

“How handsome he is, how exquisite... Have I ever seen that? Have I always known that he’s good as well? I thought he forgot me long ago, and look at us now…”

\- Is that your car, Crowley? - Aziraphale asked while carefully moving away from the ruins.

\- You like it? I got it in 1929, and not a scratch since then. I plan to keep it that way. – Crowley opened the door for Aziraphale with a courteous gesture.

\- Thank you.

Aziraphale got in, too embarrassed to say he was still a bit wary of using cars, 20 years after they became common.

\- I like it. This car is very lovely. Suits you well.

\- As if you’d know what suits me or not, angel. Where to?

“_Angel_”. He hadn’t heard this nickname in 80 years, and yet it seemed like he’d just heard it the other day. Aziraphale didn’t want to go home, but it was no time to mumble and drive around London with no purpose.

\- John Locke’s 49, please. Do you know where it is?

\- No. Will you show me?

\- Uhm, yes. I will. I most certainly will. 

Aziraphale didn’t know what to say, and for half an hour or so they drove in silence, only breaking it from time to time to discuss directions. Crowley seemed calm and reserved. Before long, they came to a place Aziraphale was living in at that moment. The car stopped, none of them spoke. The silence made air too thich to breathe.

\- So… May I stay here, in your car, for a while? – Aziraphale felt like a complete idiot, asking to stay in a car on a street during a bombing raid, but he couldn’t make himself leave just yet. – I haven’t seen you in a while, you know. I'd like to talk to you. It's not every day that you just run into... got run into by your old friends.

\- Quite a while, yeah. – Crowley smiled. – Such a crazy time, this century. Airplanes, zeppelins, all those killing machines. I’m a bit worn out already, to be frank.

\- Well, at least fashion is good. You look great in this suit, I must tell you. – Aziraphale was afraid his voiced trembled a bit too much.

\- I like it too. My shoes, though… I think I ruined them. – Crowley looked down on his feet, slightly concerned. – My best pair, they were. Pity.

Aziraphale remembered how Crowley was shifting on consecrated ground and the aching in his chest felt sharper and stronger.

\- I didn’t expect to see you there. Or anywhere. I thought it was over. Our…

\- Fraternizing? – Crowley turned his face to him, smiling with a mocking smile that suddenly looked so familiar and unpretentious that Aziraphale finally felt he could relax just a bit.

\- I’m sorry about that, alright? I meant to say “our friendship”. You are my friend, of that I’m sure. Now. What you did was very kind. But I… I don’t understand - how did you find me?

\- As much as you’d think I’m a Nazi, angel, it just so happens that I’m not…

\- … I’m sorry about that, too!

\- … Shut up. As much as you’d think I’m a Nazi, I’m not. I used to spend some time with British intelligence, learned a thing or two. And one day, just like this day, I heard of some bugger named Andrew Zira Fell.

That was, in retrospect, indeed a bit obvious.

\- … Anyway, it wasn’t long before I learned you were going to be… How did you put it? Played for a sucker, yes. – Crowley laughed. – So I knew it just had to be you, mr. Fell.

\- I’m such an idiot. – Aziraphale’s face turned red. - It seems so obvious now, the way I got fooled…

\- Come on, you’re not an idiot. – Crowley put a hand on his shoulder, smiling. – But you’re too naïve and way too trusting. You’ll get yourself in much more trouble if you won’t start testing people before trusting them, and I won’t be always there to get you out.

_“How I wish you were…”_

\- Crowley. I guess it’s not a good time for lunches and leisurely strolls in parks. I don’t know what to suggest, but I… - Aziraphale didn’t know how to put it in words. – I don’t want to lose sight of you for another 80 years.

\- Provided there will be another 80 years, angel. I’m not so sure of that anymore. Things I hear, the nuclear bombs… Humans make things that make Hell shiver.

\- You remember, you told me once “Animals don’t kill each other will clever machines, only humans do that”. It was back in 1790s. Now I see what you meant, how right you were. – “_And how bright and clever, much brighter than me_” – Aziraphale thought.

\- Wish I wasn’t. But I proved to be... Anyway, I’m leaving in the morning. Overseas, got business to do. I don’t know when I’ll be back in England, but I hope…

_“Does he hope to see me here?!...”_

\- … I hope there’s still be England to come back to. – Crowley finished with a sigh.

_“Well, that makes sense too”._

\- What did you plan to do before leaving? I suppose there’s not much entertainment here…

\- Can’t argue that. Nothing, really. Save you, drop you home, sit in my car. Quite a plan, is it?

Aziraphale thought that it may have been the last time he saw him before he got discorporated from another bomb. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Not after so little time with him…

\- Would you like some company here? I don’t really need to sleep, you know. And it could very well be the last time before either of us gets hit by another bomb, so…

\- I don’t mind you here, angel. But DO stop that nonsense about “last time”, will you? - Crowley sounded irritated. - Neither of us can die, you do remember that, I hope?

\- I do. But I’m scared. – Aziraphale confessed shyly. – I never thought it could come to things like that. Things they do on continent. Or in Russia. Or…

\- We’re all scared, angel. But the world will end anyway, in fire and flames, and we’ll be on opposite sides when it does. – Crowley seemed calm but somewhat sad. – So better not to dwell on it for far too long.

So they stayed in the car until the first light of dawn – two immortal beings, bound by almost-6000-year friendship, they had much to discuss. Crowley was close to him, old and familiar Crowley, and yet so much more handsome and charming than he ever was, Aziraphale thought...

But the night was over too soon for Aziraphale, and before he was ready to let go of Crowley, blood-red light of sunrise treacherously covered them both.

_“Not now, not yet…”_

\- It’s time for me to leave, angel. It was nice seeing you. I hope this city will still be there when I return.

\- Crowley, could you… Take your glasses off, for a moment? A-and your hat, too.

He knew he sounded pathetic, but he longed to see his eyes one last time, if it truly was the last time.

\- Why? – Crowley took both off. – I prefer keeping hat on, not my best haircut as of now.

Aziraphale looked at him, seated so close, shined by crimson rising sun – yellow snake eyes, ginger curly hair, aquiline nose - same as he was in Eden and yet so different, and a thought crossed angel’s mind, sharp as a knife and as deadly as it:

_“I love him”_

Crowley looked so beautiful in that moment that the bliss of simply looking at him almost overweighed pain and regret that filled Aziraphale’s heart.

\- I have to go now, I really do. I’ll find you when I come back, just don’t get yourself shot or exploded, angel. A’right? – Crowley suddenly grinned. – I tell you, we’ll win. The Allies will win, I mean. No way I’m gonna let those bastards take our city. London.

_"Such an optimist. As always. And he said “our London”…"_

\- Now I feel safe. See you, Crowley.

Black Bentley disappeared at the crossroads a minute after Aziraphale left it, but he stood silently and watched the sun rise for at lest a few minutes after that. Sirens kept wailing. The war went on.

And for the first time in almost 6000 years, time went so slow it was almost impossible to bear it.


End file.
